Painting Workshop

I have slowly been getting stronger and able to stay awake longer periods of time, with that has come the ability to drive a little on weekends - no more than 30 minutes at a shot however.  This past weekend was a special event at Daniel Smith - favorite art store and only 13 minutes from my house.

They brought in Laurin McCracken, one of the top five watercolor painters in the world!  If you click on the link you will be taken to the Recent Paintings page on his website.  I really do not like still life painting, which he excels in, but I went to his lecture on Dutch Masters - very good.  Then a lecture on how to sell art - OMG!, I never knew what a used car salesman environment the art world really was!  So, got all of those in's and out's in my notes now.  And then a talk about how he created one of his paintings ...

Sunday, he offered a class - and I have never done any of Daniel Smith's Sunday classes before, but with an early service at church, I was able to hit Starbucks for iced tea and still make the class.  I expected to do no painting, just listen and observe.  It was awe inspiring this man's talent, his ability to communicate (with a strong Mississippi accent!) and one gets the idea he is a very regular guy.

As usual, there were four times as many women as men in the class - it drew only 8 of us!  World class artist, thousands of artists in Seattle and 8 showed up - simply amazing!  But, small classes also mean that you are going to learn!  My most valuable lesson?  How to make a smooth non-streaking black for backgrounds - a curse in my paintings!  That alone was worth the $100 cost - probably the best money spent in quite a while!

Check out the link above and see the kinds of work which have set him apart in the world of art.

Best part of the weekend though, was I had a chance to talk with him during breaks.  I found out he started painting at age 60.  He had always loved to draw but had never painted.  Now, 12 years later, he is at the top of the art world.

So, there is hope for Kris after-all!  Cleaning house this week so I can paint next weekend!!!!!
:)